Meet illustrator and musician from Bangkok, Naruemon Yimchavee (Gluay).

 

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Naruemon Yimchavee. Iʼm 25 years old now. I live in Bangkok city and work as a freelance illustrator. I also have a band with my friends called “Blue Yogurt”. I love Somtam, all kinds of Thai raw food, and beer is a must!

 

Describe the city you’re living in and what it’s like to live there.

People say living in a big city is some kind of a chaotic thing, I sometimes have this thought, too. But actually, Bangkok is a city that activates me. I get bored easily, so if I live in some place out of town, everything may seem too slow for me. Thatʼs why I think Bangkok is the right place! Bangkok makes me a fighter! Fight for everything! The first match of a day is the traffic jam in Bangkok. The traffic here is quite bad, you have to be patient to get through each route. You have to take like 3 kinds of public transport continuously in order to get to the office every morning lol. Anyway, thereʼs the thing I like most about Bangkok: it is FOOD! Bangkok street food is very famous. People all over Thailand come to make a living here, so all the cultures get mixed, and so does the food! I love to discover new places and restaurants. In each area has different types of food, you can easily find some delicious dinner everywhere and gain some weight lol! Lastly, Bangkok is a challenging city to live in, itʼs a fun city, you can find different kinds of people here, all the funny (and ironic) things happen here. My relationship with Bangkok might be a love-hate relationship. If itʼs an art, it might be some kind of mixed media art that is colourful and sarcastic for sure.

 

My relationship with Bangkok might be a love-hate relationship. If itʼs an art, it might be some kind of mixed media art that is colourful and sarcastic for sure.

What is the best and worst thing about living in your city?

The best thing is my family and my friends. I lived here since I was born, although I had stayed in Chiangmai for some time, my real home is here in Bangkok. Among these disorderly things, you will not be too stressed dealing with it if you have friends who get through these with you. Some days when you get tired from work or feel lonely, you can call your friends to get some Somtam and have a night out, then get up again in the next morning to face the same terrible traffic again lol. The bad thing about this city is that civilization stays only within the town. Lots of malls and minimarts have been built without considering the traffic, transportation, or people, they only think of business and money. Most of the people in Thailand have to come to Bangkok to earn their living, thatʼs why the population in BKK gets higher and higher. It might be better if we can spread prosperity to other places outside of Bangkok.

 

Give us 3 words that describe what it’s like to be a creative in your city.

Challenging, ironic, entertaining

 

How did you start your career in art?

When I was a child I didnʼt really like drawing or had a dream to be an illustrator. My beginning started when I was in high school. I love music so much, at the same time, I started to learn art through music: music videos, album covers, or even magazines that my favourite bands were featured. From there I realized that there are some careers that design things like this lol. At that age I just wanted to study at a university with fun people or people that love music like me. Anyway, I ended up at Bangkok University, Faculty of Fine And Applied Art. While studying there, I realized what I like and what I donʼt like. I have tried many things like photography, drawing, editorial, etc. After graduating, I had an opportunity to work at 1001 nights editions. I drew every day, from having no illustration experience to practicing to be good at it. Since then Iʼve been striving to draw more and more. People start to see me as an illustrator, so I chose this way as my career. Iʼm still practicing till now. Iʼm still looking and learning new techniques. Every work I have done is just like a lesson Iʼve learned, and it helps unlock new skills within myself.

 

Every work I have done is just like a lesson Iʼve learned, and it helps unlock new skills within myself.

Were the people around you supportive of your decision on working as a creative?

Everyone around me supports me for this including my family. They never forced me to do anything that I donʼt want to do. They push me to do what I love and do it my best.

 

What are some goals and ambitions you have for your future work?

Most of my works are 2D. In the future, I want to try doing 3D works or try creating some short animations. This year I have already done the works that were assigned by others, so I want to share my story in my own ways too.

 

If you could collaborate with any person in the world who would it be?

I want to create an album cover for Frankie Cosmos! She is my favorite artist, and all of her artwork is so adorable. But if in Thailand, I want to work with Yarinda. Sheʼs another artist I like. More than illustrate for them, I want to sing and play music with them as well. Lol

 

How would you describe the women around you?

There are many women around me who are artists and illustrators. They have their own style and they all are really good at it. I usually follow them on social networks. When they post their new projects, I always get motivated and get inspired to create my work.

 

There are many women around me who are artists and illustrators. They have their own style and they all are really good at it.

Were there any local female creatives that you looked up to when you were growing up?

I have to say there is no specific female artist that I looked up to in the creative field. The one that I respect and want to be like is my mom. She is the icon of my life. She always had new creative perspectives in life, therefore I choose her as my favourite female creative.

 

Are there any challenging aspects of being a female in your industry?

No matter what gender you are, what career path you choose, you all have to deal with hard work and problems to get to your goal. Everything depends on how you use your passion to deal with it.

 

No matter what gender you are, what career path you choose, you all have to deal with hard work and problems to get to your goal. Everything depends on how you use your passion to deal with it.

Do you have any advice to young women who are aspiring to work in your field?

Do whatever you want! 🙂 Try it! Then you will learn the result yourself. Open your heart and get ready to face any opportunity that comes towards you. Do your best and have fun with it. 🙂

 

 

Photos courtesy of Naruemon Yimchavee